The Day I Met Merridew

Chapter Five: Apple Halves

As chatters smuggled the schools perimeter,  Summer pushed through it. Conversations turned into her ears, making her loose focus of the door entering the science corridor. But after leaning forward and applying a large force to her strides; she got to the entrance soon enough.

This corridor was almost ghostly. Everyone seemed to move so much slower, like there was a lack of enthusiasm. Just how Summer felt about science. And there it was, the three-digit numbered sign, 'room 666'. Quite frankly the room from hell, as it were. The door was prematurely open, and Summer peeped her head around it to spy any early class mates that had already entered the lesson. Alas, there wasn't a teenager in sight. Yet honestly, a spray of relief scattered onto Summers forehead. And she gently erased it away with her washed out sleeve. Resting her back against the wall, she slowly wiped down it, leaning her head back and thinking deeply once more. "If I was in a better life, I wouldn't have to stress about sitting all alone in classes." Summer spoke in a subtle murmur that drifted away into the absence of anybody caring. A group of kids arrived just meters away, prating about some ridiculous happening. One of them seemed to look at Summer in disgust.

"Eugh, look at that slug on the floor!" The rest of the kids turned to her, chortling and snorting whilst pointing their sharpened nails. "You know, at least I care to shower every now and then!" But one of those within the group of kids seemed to roll their eyes, take a soft sigh and look down at Summer in consideration. Just for a second. "Wait a minute, Ky? You're telling me you actually care about his shrimpy thing?" Summer looked up in an immediate action, processing her thoughts like programming on a computer. Question mark, comma, Ky? Question mark, comma, jack? Ky, Ky, Ky Ky, Ky, Ky. Repeatedly in Summers head. The processing of this new information toiled in her mind over and over. She turned her head, facing directly towards one specific boy. He looked back at her, bemused and bewildered. "Well, anyways. we should be getting to class." The kids nodded their heads, and agreed.

"Sure thing, fred!" 

"Wait, Freddie?" Summer questionably called. 

"Well, looks like my name sure gets around. Been scooping anymore of my friends up lately. I mean, besides Jack and Ky?" A sly smile drew upwards on Freddie's face, and the ever-present, strange glint in their eye seemed to make Summer back off quite a bit.  

"I can't exactly say I've scooped anybody up lately. Even my ice cream seems to deny me doing so. Maybe its just your face that scares all your friends into finding someone actually kind... Such as me." The escaping group of kids overhead and chuckled in the shade. 

"Burn! You got roasted Fred!" Freddie turned and sent out a ray of sharp, dirty glances. And in doing so the group of kids waved their goodbyes and scuttled into their lessons.

"Well, anywho. Looks like you're spending another lesson with me then, slug." Freddie turned to the classroom door, slowly looking up to a tall, bony teacher in fear. 

"Hmm... Watkins. I'm glad to see you're treating the rest of my class with respect." The strangled words of Mr Gofalu stated. He raised his eyebrows and corrugated his forehead in speculation. 

"I... I was just... We're friends!" Freddie stated, reaching their arm around Summer,  throwing on a faux smile. Mr Gofalu called the discretely accumulated line into the classroom, pulling away a mask of distrust upon his face. Soon after, Freddie threw Summer to the floor, wiping away her forgery. "Don't think I was being serious. This means war! I'm watching you." Hurling her faux snake-skin bag over her shoulder and breathing a humph. Summer rolled her eyes and attempted to pull herself up. 

"Would you like a hand?" Summer looked up. A tall dark haired boy reached down his hand to pull her up. Gingerly Summer nodded in a shy notion. And even after standing upright, this boy was still extremely tall. "Are you in this class? You are right?"

"Yes, I am. Wish I wasn't though."

"I know what you mean, science has always been a subject I've  hated." The two giggled and lead into the classroom in high spirits.

Mr Gofalu always was an easygoing soul. He never forced a seating plan, or demanded any difficult homework. Infact, he never did a bad thing in his life. He always tried to make Summer feel happy and interested in his lessons, along with the rest of his pupils. And majorly, he had a positive effect on everyone he taught. 

Summer marched down the isle behind the tall boy, and he chose to sit in couple of places towards the back of the room. Tucking her stool in, and rummaging in her bag for her pencils and pens; Summer spied a subtle buzzing phone in the bottom of her bag. She clicked on a button and a message swept onto the screen. 'You like Jack, don't you.' She threw it back into her bag, tossing it to the floor, and attempting to shoo the butterflies away. Her face glowed a flourish of pink, and the tall boy turned to Summer looking vaguely puzzled.

"Are you okay? You look a bit flushed and stressy." Freeing a tenuous handful of laughter, she tucked her hair behind her hair and closed her arms into herself.  

"I'm fine, I assure you." She told the tall boy. 

"I'm Ky, anyway, pleased to finally meet you. I mean seriously, Jack's been a right pain, did you get my message?" Summer nodded and looked down while sliding her mouth to one side. 

"Yes, I did. And I know I'm really bad at making friends, and that he probably caught the wrong impression or something..."

"Not at all. Infact, Jack was just worried that he gave the wrong impression that he was angry at you. He isn't. You know, he's really not a bad guy at all! He's just having alot of struggles with a certain someone recently." He tapped his left elbow against Summers arm and nodded forward once Summer was paying full attention. "He's bloody insane. Every night; hello babe, hello hun, hope you're okay, where are you? Like an alarm waking him up at the struck of every hour in the middle of the night. Its like he has some conscience that his boo is with some other significant other at all times."

"Wait... He?